Gearlink Kawasaki made its first appearance at the Bishopscourt circuit in Co Down on Sunday when the team contested three races at the Sunflower Trophy meeting. Ben Wilson and Jamie Hamilton were joined on the grid by Omagh rider B J Toal who was riding the Gearlink Kawasaki machine for the first time.
Qualifying was held in the dry on Saturday with Wilson posting the second fastest lap in the Supersport class, Toal was third and Hamilton eighth ahead of the two Supersport races held on Sunday. They also contested the JAS Finlay Sunflower Trophy race where Wilson was the fastest 600cc rider in a field mainly consisting of Superbikes and qualified in an overall position of 10th with Hamilton and Toal lining up alongside him in 13th and 14th places for a third row start to the feature race on Sunday.
Although the weather had been kind on Saturday it was a different story come race day as the rain put paid to any real chance of a top result. Saturday was the first time Wilson had set eyes on the 1.83-mile circuit in Co Down and although he was quick to learn the tricky little circuit in the dry, it was a different story in wet conditions with tyre choice being the deciding factor.
The first of two Supersport races was held in wet conditions making tyre choice easy, full wets all round. The three Gearlink Kawasaki riders were inseparable throughout the nine laps and followed each other over the finish line, Wilson being the first Kawasaki home, swiftly followed by Hamilton and Toal.
The feature race of the day was the Sunflower Trophy race that ran over 12 laps. The three Gearlink Kawasaki riders were at a disadvantage as the majority of the riders were on more powerful Superbikes but that didn’t deter the trio who once again completed the race, this time Wilson rode through to a fine eighth position – again being the first Kawasaki over the finish line and also the first Supersport rider home. Toal came home in 10th place and Hamilton not far behind in 13th.
The final Supersport race was marred by intermittent rain and a last minute tyre change gave Wilson his best result of the weekend. He ended the nine lap affair in fifth place, well ahead of former MotoGP rider Jeremy McWilliams and once again he was the first Kawasaki over the finish line.
But both Toal and Hamilton fell foul to the weather conditions and failed to start the race. Toal went out on a dry rear and wet front but soon realised it was the wrong decision and took the sensible option of pulling in. Hamilton also realised his tyre choice was wrong but although he returned to the pits to switch tyres there was insufficient time and he was not permitted to start the race.
"I really enjoyed my trip across the Irish Sea. I like the circuit at Bishopscourt and the people here made the whole team very welcome. It’s just a shame the weather wasn’t so kind to us as it could have been a different story if it had remained dry. But despite the rain, I managed to finish all three races in a good position and gave the Irish fans a chance to watch the Gearlink Kawasaki British Supersport team in action," said Wilson.
"The rain didn’t help me as it made tyre choice so difficult. It was half and half throughout the day, wet then dry then wet again. The first race was no problem as it was wet but although it had dried up for the second Supersport race the rain again began to fall as we were on our way to the grid. I tried to get a change of tyres but it was too late and I wasn’t permitted back onto the track. But despite that it was nice to be able to ride the Gearlink Kawasaki Supersport machine in front of my home crowd," added Hamilton.
"This was my first time on the Gearlink Kawasaki but I soon gelled with the bike and was on the pace from the word go. Although it was fine and dry for qualifying the weather changed for race day and that caused a few headaches all round. For the second Supersport race I opted for a dry rear and wet front but on leaving pit lane I soon realised that was not the way to go and it was game over," said Toal.
